Is My The Song of the Lark a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Published October 1915, 489 pp., in blue cloth stamped in gilt on the front cover and spine; the copyright page carries the statement "Published October 1915." Two first-printing points are corroborated: boxed advertisements listing three titles appear on the copyright page, and page 8, third line from the bottom, reads "moment" — the uncorrected singular
• The second printing corrects the reading to "moments," so a copy reading "moments" is not a first printing regardless of the date on the title page
• Crane records the first edition as A8.a.i, and a later binding variant in dull blue vertically ribbed cloth stamped in gilt is reported

How Houghton Mifflin marked a first edition

• Merger-lineage window (Hurd & Houghton 1864 → Houghton, Osgood & Co. 1878–1880 → Houghton, Mifflin & Co. from 1880): still no 'First Edition' wording; identify by title-page date matching the copyright date, by the earli…
• Late-19th to mid-20th century (c.1880s–1950s): the operative tell is the title page. Houghton Mifflin almost invariably printed the year of first publication, in Arabic numerals, on the title page of a first printing and…

Full Houghton Mifflin first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The US Houghton Mifflin 1915 edition is the true first and the census claim is confirmed. The first English edition was published by John Murray, London, in March 1916; per the Willa Cather Archive bibliography it was made up from American sheets rather than reset, so it is an English issue of the American setting and not a competing first. Collectors pursue the Houghton Mifflin 1915; the Murray is collected as the first English appearance only.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue exists for this title (it predates the American book clubs). The practical later-printing tells are textual and preliminary rather than a club stamp: the corrected "moments" at page 8 and changes to the list of the author's prior works in the front matter mark subsequent Houghton Mifflin printings. Beware later Houghton printings retaining the 1915 title-page date.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Song of the Lark a first edition?

A first edition of The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (Houghton Mifflin) is identified by: Published October 1915, 489 pp., in blue cloth stamped in gilt on the front cover and spine; the copyright page carries the statement "Published October 1915." Two first-printing points are corroborated: boxed advertisements listing three titles appear on the copyright page, and page 8, third line from the bottom, reads "moment" — the uncorrected singular.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The US Houghton Mifflin 1915 edition is the true first and the census claim is confirmed.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club issue exists for this title (it predates the American book clubs). The practical later-printing tells are textual and preliminary rather than a club stamp: the corrected "moments" at page 8 and changes to the list of the author's prior works in the front matter mark subsequent Houghton Mifflin printings. Beware later Houghton printings retaining the 1915 title-page date.

I have a first edition of The Song of the Lark — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.